Sometimes, Rum is the Best Medicine
by OrihimesTwin3
Summary: Drabble Series: Orihime, a holistic medicine, ignites a flame between old rivals with just a simple gesture. With crime on the rise, sometimes you need a little something extra to sleep soundly at night. MAIN: RenjixOrihime
1. Just a Drink

It was one of those times when Orihime coincidentally met odd members from her past.

Ten years have passed since high school, and Orihime became a very popular holistic medicine practitioner. She was out at a bar with Rangiku-san, who was one of the nurses from the local hospitals, and she looked up from her cute drink with the umbrella (_Because,_ Orihime thought, _those are the best_) did she see Kurosaki-kun, her crush from in high school.

Instantly, Orihime busied herself in her umbrella when Rangiku-san noticed her behavior changed as soon as the boys walked in.

"You okay, 'Hime-chan? Do you know those boys?"

Orihime felt herself flush. "The orange –haired one, I used to have a crush on in high school."

Rangiku-san smiled, and she looked over to the bartender. "Two of your best for those boys, my friend."

Orihime paled. "Rangiku-san! Why would you embarrass me like that!"

"Oh hush up, hun." Rangiku-san laughed. "We're just buying the nice boys in blue some drinks."

"Boys in blue?" Orihime sneaked a glance at Ichigo. Yup, there was the uniform of the Karakura small time police department. She chanced another glance at Ichigo.

What she wasn't expecting, however, was the flash of crimson hair and familiar thick black lines drawn over the bronzed, tight skin…

"Abarai-kun?"

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	2. Small Talk

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Face painted with shock, Orihime stood. "Abarai-kun?"

The crimson hair flipped to reveal the face of none other than Abarai Renji. Eyes growing wide, he responded. "Inoue-chan?"

Feeling awkwardly in the midst of some great reunion, Rangiku and Ichigo sat at the bar and shared drinks and small talk while Renji and Orihime stood gawking at each other like the other had grown an extra head.

Finally, Renji cleared his throat. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

Orihime blushed. "Yeah, it has, hasn't it, Abarai-kun." Repeating the name didn't make it seem any more real.

Renji coughed again. "Hey, Ichigo," he called. "I have to go back and make sure my bar isn't destroyed. Take care of these girls, ya hear?"

And with that, he scampered away with as much dignity he could muster after seeing _her_ again.

Ichigo looked at Orihime. "You know him, or somethin?"


	3. Whisper

Orihime lay in her bed in her small apartment late that night, the mosquito screens rippling gently from the breeze that rolled in through her open window, lulling her into a state of conscious dreaming. (_Or early the next morning, if you wanna be technical. )_

"_You know him, or somethin?" _

"_Oh, he was just someone I met on a vacation I took with the little blue men a few years back, that's all." Orihime said jumpily._

Neither Ichigo or Rangiku believed it.

Orihime had learned that Renji now owned a local bar, affectionately known as Central 46. He lived above the bar, during the daytime, and at night he opened his first floor to the public.

Rangiku loved it. _"Hey, 'Hime-chan, maybe we should go sometime, hmm? Give you and the red-head a little time to play catch-up?"_

Orihime blanched. She could never, ever, look Abarai-kun in the face again. She'd be too embarrassed. Not after…

_No, don't think about it. If you think about it, you'll make the feeling stay. _

Tears collected at the corners of her eyes. As she fell into the clutches of slumber, there was only one thing, one person, on her mind. And he came and went from her life as he left her voice now. A whisper.

_Renji-kun….._


	4. Ink

Black, inky lines furrowed in frustration. "I thought I told you guys to keep… it… DOWN!" Renji's breath came in short bursts as he physically threw the rabble from his bar.

Walking back, Renji looked around his dingy bar. Masumoto-san had followed Ichigo back to Renji's bar. There were a few sullen stragglers, and then his bouncers: Zaraki-san, Kuchiki-san, and Hisagi-san. Ise-san and Shunsui-chan were regulars- although he often had to help Ise-san to get her boyfriend into a cab to prevent him from attempting to walk home.

"Abarai-kun!" Masumoto-san called. "Come here!" Her voice carried through the bar like jingling bells. It was pleasant, compared to the usual noise. Renji quickly scanned the bar to find the blonde, where he found her and Ichigo sitting in the back of the bar, sidled up next to each other in a booth, Rangiku's hair seeming golden in the dim lighting.

"Hai, Masumoto-san?" Renji pushed Rangiku slightly and sat down with them.

"Have a drink, Abarai-kun." Rangiku pushed a glass of brown liquid towards him, which Renji quickly recognized as whiskey. Sipping at the drink, Renji took inventory of his companions. Both faces were flushed from alcohol, and Ichigo sat idly, stirring his gin and tonic with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Abarai-kun," Rangiku's voice slurred slightly. "Kurosaki-kun and I were talking. I met 'Hime-chan through work, he met her in high school…" Rangiku's eyes lit up.

"Don't ask how I met her." Renji's voice was firm. Although she was far to drunk to realize anything, Rangiku could see the smouldering emotions hidden behind his inky irises.

"Pleaseeee, Abarai-kun. It's not fairrrr.." Rangiku's head lolled onto Ichigo's shoulder with the last word.

"Masumoto-san, I think you've drank too much for one evening." Renji's eyes watched her carefully and barely caught her glass as it fell from her hand. "Kuchiki-san!" his voice called.

"Hai, Abarai?" Kuchiki Byakuya's cold eyes fell on Renji's party, mostly on the inebriated woman between the two men.

"Can you call a cab for Masumoto-san? She walked here." Renji's eyes locked with the man, sending slight shivers down his spine as Byakuya's eyes seemed to almost peer into his soul.

"Should I escort her? Or should I just let her go…" Byakuya watched the way Rangiku's head lolled against the wall, murmuring to herself.

"Go with her, if you wouldn't mind. Then you can just go home, we're good for the night ."

"Hai." Renji and Byakuya spent the next ten minutes trying to persuade Rangiku that getting up was a good idea, finding her shoes, then getting her into the cab.

"Kuchiki-san?" Renji said, as Byakuya followed Rangiku into the cab. Handing him enough for a cab fare, Renji then handed him a small wad of twenties.

"Here's a bonus. You're getting a raise."

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	5. Crimson

**A hint towards their past. It's short, but you get the idea. **

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"_I'll never see you again." _

"_Don't think about that right now." his eyes focused on her. "Just worry about this. This moment is all that matters right now."_

_Crimson hair tangled with orange. Danity fingers traced inky black lines over taut muscles while hands, callused from years of training, caressed soft porcelain skin. Soft grey eyes met with irises that matched the ink on his skin. Lips met once again: soft, passionate. Broken for air, their eyes met once again. _

"_Abarai…"_

"_Renji." _

"_Renji." She blushed, her cheeks the shade of his hair. "I don't want this to stop."_

"_It doesn't have to." _

"_I'm worried."_

"_Orihime, you worry too much." She liked the way he said her name, his voice low like rumbling thunder. _

"_You say that all the time." _

"_Maybe because it's true." Renji smiled against her skin before he took her once again, his hands like fine sandpaper over her skin. _

Orihime woke up in a cold sweat. Her body, shaking slightly, didn't seem to want to cooperate with her as she got up to get a drink. Stumbling slightly, she barely made it in time to throw up in the sink. After she was done, she sunk to the floor, the tears over coming her.


End file.
